Apparatus for moving invalids



(NoMoaeL) zsheets-sheet 1. S. P. H. HALE.

APPARATUS POR MOVING INVALIDS.

No. 430,642. PatentedJgge 24, 1890.

uumumllllllllllnnnmlmll l I mmm. llllillllllll mmmlmmuumllmlllllllllllll||||||||||liIn||l l l um! wf WWA/55555 me mams FUERA no., Fumo-mno., wlsnwsmw, u. z:4

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. P. H. HALE.

APPARATUS POR MOVING INVALIDS.

N2 30,642. f Patented June 24, 1890.

l L4 7" ,nl f-l ,2. y nu"inunuunumqm''lmununl fill IIIIIIIHHIN I l iwlll\IllllllllllIlllllllllllllIII|IIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllmmlll unmlmlllllun fmmnumllllllllllml -ll 1 l l W TN 55555/ 9. fl/W.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SETH P. H. HALE, OF HUBBARDSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR MOVING INVALIDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 4SO,642, dated June 24, 1890.

Application filed January 5, 1888. Serial No. 259,831. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SETH P. I'I. HALE, of I-Iubbardston, in the county of Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Moving Invalids, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a simple, convenient, portable, and easily-operated apparatus for raising and moving invalids; and it consists, mainly, in a portable crane the upright of which is constructed like a jack-screw, so that it can be caused to bear at its upper end against the ceiling of a room and at its lower' end against the iioor with .sufcient pressure to hold the said upright firmly without positive attachment to either the iioor or ceiling, the arm of said crane being adapted to swing horizontally over a bed and provided with appliances for lifting and supporting an invalid.

The invention also consists in the combination and construction of devices composing the supporting and lifting appliances, all of which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved apparatus. Fig. 2 represents a top view of the same, the upper portion of the eXtensible upright or standard being removed. Fig. 3 represents a rear elevation. Fig. 4 represents a perspective view of the chair or couch.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the iigures.

In the drawings, @represents a tubular upright or standard having a suitable base a to rest on the iioor of a room. On the upper end of said standard is mounted a nut Z7, having a hand-wheel Z2 by which it may be rotated.

c represents a threaded standard or screw passing through the nut h`and engaged with the thread thereof, the lower portion of said screw being within the tubular' standard a, whileits upper portion extends above said standard, and is provided at its upper end with a flat bearing-plate c', adapted to bear' against the ceiling of a room when the screw c is sufficiently raised.

d represents a crane mounted to turn on the standard a, and composed of the horizontal arm 2 and the brace 3, each formed at its inner end to turn on the standard a. It will be seen that the standard a and screw c constitute an elongated jack-screw, which may be firmly supported in a vertical position by elevating the screw c until its plate c 'bears iirmly against the ceiling of the room in which the apparatus is located, the base of the standard a being thus iirmly held to the floor of the room, so that the standard 'cannot be overturned. The plate c should have a considerable area, and a piece of cloth should be .interposed between it and the ceiling to prevent marring the latter. It will be seen that the standard and its crane can be thus firmly supported without screwing or nailing the standard to the floor or in any way marring the latter, and that the standard can be located in anyV desired part of the room and quickly secured by a few turns of the nut b, and as quickly released.

Heretofore in appliances of this kind the standard has been secured by screwing its base to the iioor, causing injury to the floor and carpet and much more labor in applying and removing than is required in applying and removing my improved standard.

The crane d and standard a may be provided with any suitable appliances for moving an invalid. I have here shown as the best organization of devices known to me the following parts, viz: First, a jointed couch or chair composed of a sheet e of canvas or other fabric attached to a marginal frame, which consists of a back-section 4L and a seat-section 5, hinged together, and a legsupporting section 6, hinged to the seat-section; secondly, two pairs of straps g g and h h, the straps g g being connected by rings c' z' on their ends to flexible loopsjjl on the backsection, while the straps h h are connected by rings i" z" to similar loops 7" j on the seatsection 5; thirdly, pulleys la 7c and Z Z on transverse shafts 7c Z, attached to the crane near its outer end, over which pulleys the straps g g h h run; fourthly, pulleys m m 'a n, running loosely on a shaft o, attached to the crane near its inner end, the last-named pulleys also guiding the straps, as shown; and, fifthly, independently-rotatable drums q q fr r, adapted to rotate loosely on a trans- IOO verse rod or shaft s in a frame or block t, which is attached to the brace 3, and is adapted to rotate with the crane.

The straps g g are wound on the drums q q, while the straps h h are wound on the drums r fr, so that by rotating the drums q q independently, bythe meanshereinaftcrdescribed, the back-section 4t may be raised or lowered and thus given any desired inclination or made horizontal, as may be desired. By rotating both the drums q q and fr' r simultaneously the seat and back sections are raised or lowered together. It willbe seen, there fore, that an invalid can be raised to a sitting posture only while remaining on the bed, or can be raised entirelyfrom the bed either in a sitting or a horizontal posture, and when raised can be moved away from the bed and lowered to a couch or chair.

. To the drums q q are attached gears u u, which mesh with pinions fu u on a shaft w, journaled in the frame or block t. Similar gears are attached to the drums r r and mesh with pinions y y on another shaft 2, which is also journaled in the frame or block t. By rotating` the shaft w the straps g g are operated, while the rotation of the shaft z operates the straps h h. Said shafts w z are provided with cranks A A, whereby they may be rotated. The shafts w z maybe held in any position by brakes B B, which are engaged with screw-threaded rods C C, adapted to rotate in lugs formed on the frame or block t, the threaded ends of said rods entering tapped sockets in the brake-shoes. By turning said rods C in one direction the brakeshoes are pressed against the shafts w z so firmly as t0 prevent said shafts from rotating. i

I prefer to provide springs D D at the outer ends of the straps g h to make the movements of an invalid by the apparatus easy and free from jolting or jarring.

The shafts or rods 7o Z o that support the strap-guiding pulleys are preferably secured to blocks E, which are adjustable on the crane d, andr are secured thereto at any point to which they may be adj usted by set-screws F.

My invention is not limited to the jointed couch or support, as the strap g 7i may be secured directly to a mattress or to a sheet of canvas or other fabric not provided with the sectional hinged frame.

It is obvious that the construction and ar-r rangement of the lifting devices may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claiml. The combination of the extensible upright or standard, constructed substantially as described, the crane mounted to swing horizontally on said upright, the straps g g and h h, supported in pairs on said crane, the pair of drums q q and the pair of drums rr' r, support-ed by the crane, and the shafts w e', and the gearing thereby, whereby either pair of drums may be operated independently, as set forth.

2. The combination of the eXtensible upright or standard, the crane mounted to swing horizontally thereon, the straps g g 7L h, supported in pairs on said crane, the pair of drums q q and the pair of drums r r, supported by and turning with the crane, the shafts w z, and the gearing operated by said shafts, whereby each pair of drums may be operated independently, and the hinged sectional couch or support having the back-section secured to the straps g g, and the seatsection secured to the straps h h, as set forth.

3. The combination of an upright or standard,the crane mounted to swing horizontally thereon, the straps g g h h, supported in pairs on said crane, the pair of drums q g and the pair of drums r r, engaged with said straps, the shafts tu z, journaled in bearings in the crane, the gearing operated by said shafts, whereby each pair of drums may be operated independently, the hinged sectional couch or support having the back and seat sections 4 5, the flexible loopsjjf on said sections, and the sliding rings t t" on said loops secured to the straps, as set forth.

4f. The combination of an upright or standard, the crane adapted to swing thereon, the block or frame t, attached to the brace of the crane and adapted to rotate on said upright, the straps g g and h h, the guiding-pulleys for said straps on the crane, the shaft s, the winding-drums q q and o" r, for said straps, mounted loosely on said shaft, the shafts tu z, journaled in the frame t, and the gearing connecting said shafts and drums, as set forth.

5. The combination of an upright or standard, the crane adapted to swing horizontally thereon, the block or frame t, attached to the brace of the crane and adapted to rotate with the crane on said upright, the straps g g and h h, the guiding-pulleys for said straps on the crane, the shaft s, mounted in said frame, the winding-drums q q r r, to which the straps are secured, mounted to rotate loosely on the shaft s, the gears u, u and ai, secured to said drums, and the shafts w a', journaled in the frame t, and provided with pinions o y, meshing with said gears, as set forth.

IOO

IIO

In testimony whereof 1 have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 30th day of December, A. D. 1887.

SETI-I P. H. HALE. Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON. 

